Shire of Woocoo

Woocoo was proclaimed a shire under the Local Authorities Act 1902 on 4 December 1914, with its centre of administration at Brooweena. It had previously been part of the Shire of Tiaro, and also included parts of the Shires of Antigua and Howard. The shire was named for Mount Woocoo, which itself was probably named for the local Aboriginal word for "echidna". It held its first meeting on 30 January 1915.

File:BrooweenaWarMemorial.JPG

In 1922, the residents of the Woocoo Shire erected a war memorial outside St Mary's Church of England on the Maryborough-Biggenden Road in Teebar (now within Boompa). The Woocoo Shire War Memorial was unveiled on Saturday 6 January 1923 by Major-General Thomas William Glasgow.{{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article151297231|title=A PEOPLE'S TRIBUTE.|date=8 January 1923|issue=14,789|location=Queensland, Australia|page=6|via=National Library of Australia|newspaper=Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser|access-date=29 March 2017}} In 1992 the memorial was relocated to the Woocoo Historical Museum in Brooweena due to concerns about vandalism and is now known as the Brooweena War Memorial.{{cite QHR|15744|Brooweena War Memorial|600969|accessdate=3 April 2014}}{{cite web|title=Brooweena War Memorial (Digger)|url=http://www.qldwarmemorials.com.au/Pages/MemoDet.aspx?Memorial=Brooweena%20War%20Memorial%20(Digger)|publisher=Queensland War Memorial Register|access-date=3 April 2014}}

On 27 March 1976, the Shire of Woocoo grew by {{convert|1269.00|km2|sqmi|2}} when the Shire of Burrum was renamed Shire of Hervey Bay and recast as a local government area centred on the Hervey Bay urban area. The Local Government (Maryborough and Woocoo) Regulation 1993, which took effect on 31 March 1994, resulted in Maryborough's annexation of about {{convert|700|km2|sqmi}} of Woocoo's area. At this time, Woocoo was resubdivided into three divisions each electing two councillors.

On 15 March 2008, under the Local Government (Reform Implementation) Act 2007 passed by the Parliament of Queensland on 10 August 2007, Woocoo merged with the City of Hervey Bay, City of Maryborough and part of Tiaro to form the Fraser Coast Region.

The Shire of Woocoo included the following settlements:

• Antigua
• Aramara
• Bidwill
• Boompa
• Brooweena
• Dunmora
• Grahams Creek
• Mungar
• Oakhurst
• Owanyilla
• Tinana South
• Woocoo
• Yengarie

• {{note label|1971|1|1}} The population for the 1976 boundaries was 2,938.
• {{note label|1991|2|2}} The 1991 census population of the revised Woocoo area was 2,562.

• 1915–1916: George Smyth Mant {{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article150932773|title=WOOCOO SHIRE COUNCIL.|date=4 February 1915|newspaper=Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser|access-date=18 August 2019|issue=13,013|location=Queensland, Australia|page=8|via=National Library of Australia}}{{Citation|author1=Harvey, Len|title=Pioneers and progress : a history of division one Shire of Woocoo, Queensland|publication-date=1988|publisher=Woocoo Historical Society|isbn=978-0-7316-4362-2|author2=Woocoo Historical Society}}{{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article151079200|title=WOOCOO SHIRE COUNCIL.|date=5 February 1916|newspaper=Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser|access-date=18 August 2019|issue=13,321|location=Queensland, Australia|page=12|via=National Library of Australia}}
• 1917: Laurence Stevens Smith {{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article151494944|title=WOOCOO SHIRE COUNCIL|date=17 April 1917|newspaper=Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser|access-date=18 August 2019|issue=13,700|location=Queensland, Australia|page=3|via=National Library of Australia}}
• 1918: J. Bourke {{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article151086730|title=WOOCOO SHIRE COUNCIL.|date=5 March 1918|newspaper=Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser|access-date=18 August 2019|issue=13,973|location=Queensland, Australia|page=3|via=National Library of Australia}}
• 1919–1926: George Smyth Mant {{cite book|last1=Pugh|first1=Theophilus Parsons|title=Pugh's Almanac for 1927 |date=1927|url=http://www.textqueensland.com.au/pughs-almanac|access-date=13 June 2014}}
• 1927–1929: W C Mathison [Maryborough Chronicle received from State Library of Queensland ref. ASK65230 rec'd 11/07/2019]
• 1930–1935: George Smyth Mant [information in the Maryborough Chronicle received from State Library of Queensland ref. ASK65230 rec'd 11/07/2019]
• 1936–1948: J C "Cliff" Irons [information in the Maryborough Chronicle received from State Library of Queensland ref. ASK65230 rec'd 11/07/2019]
• 1949–1955: Charles Ronald Sutton "Ron" Smith [information in the Maryborough Chronicle received from State Library of Queensland (also personal family history - my uncle)]

• 1955–1959: ????

• 1960: L.L. "Len" Harvey{{Cite book|title=Pioneers and progress : a history of division one Shire of Woocoo, Queensland|author1=Harvey, Len |author2=Woocoo Historical Society|publisher=Woocoo Historical Society|isbn=978-0-7316-4362-2|date=1988|pages=59}}

1961–1973: Charles Ronald Sutton "Ron" Smith [article in the Maryborough Chronicle early 1973 (also personal family history - my uncle)]

• 1973–1988: ????

• 1988–1992: David Braddock{{Cite web|url=http://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/documents/committees/PCEAR/1990/earc/pcear-report13.pdf|title=External Boundaries of Local Authorities|date=19 March 1992|publisher=Queensland Government|page=94|access-date=9 October 2018}}

• 1992–2000: ????

• 2000–2007: Kevin Mahoney

• 2007: Iain Lewis (Acting)

• 2007–2008: Gloria Banting

{{reflist}}

{{Queensland former LGAs}}

{{coord|25|30|36.9|S|152|38|40.34|E|type:adm2nd_region:AU-QLD|display=title}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Woocoo Shire}}

Category:Former local government areas of Queensland

Category:Populated places established in 1914

Category:2008 disestablishments in Australia

Category:Populated places disestablished in 2008